Snøhetta designs library in Beijing to resemble a ginkgo-tree forest

Norwegian architecture studio Snøhetta has unveiled designs for a 16-metre-tall glass-enclosed library in Beijing formed from pillars that create a forest-like canopy.

Located in the Chinese capital, the building was selected as the winning entry in an international competition to design the Sub-Center Library in 2018.

The new Beijing Sub-Center Library was designed by Snøhetta

The library will take shape as a glass-enclosed structure characterised by a collection of tree-like columns that support the library's roof above.

Snøhetta explained that the columns that run through the interior were designed to reference a ginkgo forest canopy – a 290 million-year-old tree species that is native to China.

The library was designed to reflect a ginkgo forest canopy

The tall linear columns will extend from ground level and then unfold and branch out at roof level into layers of abstract shapes that resemble a ginkgo-leaf canopy.

"The stepped landscape areas with the tree-like surroundings invite people to sit down and take a break at any time on their journey through the building – creating an informal zone and the notion of sitting under a tree reading your favorite book," Snøhetta said.

Each of the building's columns will be fitted with technology that aids the library's climate, lighting, acoustic performance and rainwater disposal.

It is comprised of a number of tree-like columns

The interior will boast an open, undulating plan comprised of hill-like volumes. These rolling volumes will be used to house reading rooms and add multiple staggered levels to the library that mimic the surrounding landscape.

Rows of book collections, reading spaces, a large amphitheatre and study areas will be built into and around channels and valleys within the library.

Read:

Snøhetta designs Temple University's Charles Library with "unusual geometry"

The nature of the staggered, rolling design means visitors will still be connected with larger communal spaces throughout the library.

Its zigzagging exterior glass walls continue the themes of openness and connectivity.

The tree-like columns branch out into leaf-like shapes at the roof

The roof of the building will be topped with an integrated photovoltaic system that will provide the Beijing Sub-Center Library with renewable energy.

An overhang was designed to surround the perimeter of the building to reduce the solar gain of the interior.

Zigzagging glass perimeter walls surrounds the library

Snøhetta reduced the library's glass height on the eastern and western walls, while sun-shading systems cover the southern and western sides of the building's facades.

The Beijing Sub-Center library has broken ground and is set to be completed by end of 2022. When complete, the project will become China's first self-supporting glass-facade project, the studio said.

The library is 16-metres tall

Other libraries designed by Snøhetta include a building in North Carolina that features a swooping, ceramic-clad facade with carved-out terraces.

In 2019, the studio completed the Charles Library for Temple University in Philadelphia with curved wooden entrances.

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GH3 creates sculptural Stormwater Facility for new Toronto neighbourhood

An angular concrete building and an underground reservoir form a stormwater treatment plant in Toronto by Canadian firm GH3 that is meant to "signal a new and distinctive city precinct". 

The Stormwater Facility treats runoff from Quayside and West Don Lands – former industrial zones that have undergone redevelopment in recent years. The facility sits on a slender, irregularly shaped site that is surrounded by highways, railyards and the Keating Channel.

The Stormwater Facility is surrounded by railyards

Local firm GH3 was charged with designing a utilitarian building that would make an "urban, landscape and architectural statement".

"The clients, Waterfront Toronto and Toronto Water, wanted a landmark building that would help to signal a new and distinctive city precinct," the firm said. "Achieving this demanded a design of conceptual clarity and rigour to meet the strong character of the surrounding area."

Three major elements make up the facility

The facility comprises three major elements.

The most prominent is a 600-square metre stormwater treatment plant – a sculptural mass made of cast-in-situ concrete. The building is intended to appear as a "poetic ellipsis amid the intensity of its surroundings".

At night, a triangular skylight helps the building resemble a glowing beacon

Below the site is a reservoir that consists of a 20-metre-wide shaft covered with a steel grate. The reservoir stores untreated stormwater from the surrounding area.

The project's third element is a "working ground plane of asphalt and concrete", with gutters and channels that link the reservoir to the treatment plant.

The plant features an angled roof

The plant's design is meant to evoke an inverted stone well that rises above the ground.

"This modern interpretation of an ancient vernacular is further expressed by etchings in the concrete surface, transformed into a system of rain channels running from roof to wall, to ground plane and into the shaft," the team said.

Read:

GH3 designs naturally filtered outdoor swimming pool for Canadian park

A small opening in the southern facade reveals a glimpse of the interior, while a triangular skylight helps the building resemble a glowing beacon at night.

"These openings intentionally invite curiosity about the expanding city and its supporting infrastructure, specifically the work being done to keep urban water clean and safe," the architects said.

The team sought to minimise energy consumption through passive cooling, daylighting and a highly-insulated building envelope.

GH3 constructed the project in Toronto

The building joins a notable collection of infrastructure projects in Toronto, including the art deco-style R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant, which opened in 1941, and the Bloor Viaduct, an arch bridge designed by Edmund W Burke and completed in 1918.

"It adds to a list of Toronto's historic infrastructural works, whose architectural character has helped to both express and define Toronto's identity at a given moment in time," the studio said.

Other recent infrastructure projects include a sculptural salt shed and a dump truck garage in Manhattan by Dattner Architects and WXY, and the conversion of a power plant site in Shenzhen into an urban wetland park.

The photography is by Adrian Ozimek.

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Project credits:

Architecture and landscape architecture: GH3
Client: Waterfront Toronto and Toronto Water
Prime consultant: RV Anderson
Structural, mechanical, electrical, civil engineering: RV Anderson
Contractor: Graham Construction

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Commenter calls Heatherwick Studio's 1,000 Trees development "sublime"

In this week's comments update, readers are analysing Heatherwick Studio's 1,000 Trees development and discussing other top stories.

The first section of the plant-covered 1,000 Trees development, designed by British designer Thomas Heatherwick's studio, has opened in Shanghai, China.

Designed for developer Tian An, the mixed-use development has been described as "Shanghai's Hanging Gardens of Babylon" and features up to 1,000 pillars, each with a tree planted on top.

"Like the trees were retrofitted onto a 1970s hotel"

Commenters are divided. "Sublime," said Don Bronkema.

FMB agreed: "Great building, and unique in its own right. This is one to stay. So much to discover and to wander around and through. I guess all the dissing architects will keep dissing, but average people and visitors to this beautiful site will just love it."

"What a conceptually moribund and fundamentally ugly project," disagreed Ralph Kent.

"Intense and clunky," concluded JZ. "Like the trees were retrofitted onto a 1970s hotel to Disneyfy the place."

Are readers being harsh? Join the discussion ›

Mario Cucinella Architects creates "serene and monolithic" church in Italian hill top town

Commenter says "it's unimaginable that somebody can be this creative"

Readers are worshipping the Mario Cucinella Architects-designed Santa Maria Goretti Church in the town of Mormanno in southern Italy. The building features a cross-shaped entrance.

"I honestly think it's unimaginable that somebody could be this creative," said Roelatmac. "Impressive, very beautiful."

Elvie Rubio agreed: "Wonderful building! Great architecture!"

"I would go out of my way, to view and experience this church," added Art Bray. "Modern is so hard to do. The interior, with the heavens above and the crucifix rising finish it off."

Are you delighted by Santa Maria Goretti Church? Join the discussion ›

Claywood by Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt is a wheelchair-friendly house in disguise

"Great designers find ways to create architecture out of any given challenge" says reader

Commenters are debating Claywood, a Hampshire house that British architecture studio Ayre Chamberlain Gaunthas designed for a client who became a wheelchair user after suffering a spinal cord injury.

"I am very happy that the client had the means to execute the perfect house for their circumstances, nicely done," said Puzzello. "Architecture should not be narrowly defined as buildings for typical able-bodied individuals. Great designers find ways to create architecture out of any given challenge."

Zea Newland was more cynical: "A brand-new sprawling modernist mansion with a lot of space is almost inherently wheelchair friendly, if I may say this from an able-bodied person's perspective."

"For me, this design just doesn't seem to reach that magical moment where the brief becomes more than the sum of its parts and truly architectural and inspiring," concluded Sim.

What do you think of Claywood? Join the discussion ›

Retractable screens shelter seafront apartment block in Australia by Koichi Takada Architects

Commenter calls apartment block "the prettiest thing on the Gold Coast"

Readers are discussing a mixed-use apartment block on Queensland's Gold Coast featuring retractable slatted wooden screens and thin balconies that reference the form of a pine cone. It was designed by Koichi Takada Architects.

"The prettiest thing on the Gold Coast," said Yourastar. "It should feature in their tourism ads."

Arthur Mamou-Mani was also impressed: "This architect is a breath of fresh air."

Heywood Flioyd was less keen though: "Watered-down ZHA."

Are you wowed by the building? Join the discussion ›

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Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.

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Venice to replace glass tiles on Santiago Calatrava-designed bridge amid "almost daily" falls

The city of Venice is set to replace the glass floor of Santiago Calatrava's Ponte della Costituzione bridge over the Grand Canal with stone, due to the high numbers of pedestrians slipping and falling.

The Spanish architect's 94-metre Ponte della Costituzione – Constitution Bridge in English – opened in 2008 and is made from steel and glass.

Venice's municipal authority has now decided to allocate €500,000 to replace the bridge's tempered glass paving with trachyte stone in order to make it safer for pedestrians, as reported by the New York Times.

Francesca Zaccariotto, a councillor with responsibility for public works, told the newspaper that the action is intended to prevent "almost daily" falls.

The city of Venice will pay €500,000 to replace the glass paving with stone

"People hurt themselves, and they sue the administration," she said. "We have to intervene."

In a letter shared with Dezeen, which was sent shortly before Christmas by Calatrava's office to the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, Calatrava's studio expressed support for the plan and offered to assist with the design.

"Given the tradition of beautiful stone patterns already present in your beautiful city (such as those on the Piazza San Marco and within the Basilica di San Marco), the idea of giving such a transformation also an artistic touch is something that we would like to propose for this transformation," the letter said.

"Mr Calatrava would be more than happy to work out a proposal pro bono should you be considering this appropriate."

Plan to replace glass tiles awaits approval

City officials have previously tried to reduce accidents on the Ponte della Costituzione with resin and non-slip stickers, while during wet weather last month signs appeared on the bridge advising pedestrians to keep off the glass tiles.

The plan to replace the paving with stone is still subject to structural tests and must be approved by Venice's architectural authority.

In the letter to the mayor, Calatrava's office said there is a "realistic chance that the extra load of the stone pavers could be supported by the current structure".

It added that the bridge's original glass paving "consisted of an anti-slippery upper surface that complied with all local regulations."

However, it said that "the use of the bridge with some inadequate elements and even some acts of vandalism resulted in the fracture of numerous pieces of the original glass, that unfortunately had subsequently been replaced with other inappropriate glass panes".

Read:

Santiago Calatrava's World Trade Center church illuminated for first time

The glass-and-steel curved footbridge is heavily used by tourists, due partly to its close proximity to Venice's main train station.

There are around 400 bridges in Venice, with Ponte della Costituzione only the fourth to be built on the Grand Canal since the 16th century.

Calatrava was commissioned to design the structure in 1999, with the project subject to delays and ballooning costs during construction. The bridge has been hit by repeated controversies since it opened.

It was criticised for the lack of wheelchair access, despite the architect having initially proposed to incorporate a stairlift in his design, leading to a mobility lift being built alongside the bridge in 2013.

The bridge was the first to be built on the Grand Canal since the 16th century

But the lift, a €1.5 million cable car not designed by Calatrava, has since been closed and dismantled over complaints that it was too slow and unbearably hot in the summer.

In 2019, the Court of Auditors in Italy fined Calatrava €78,000 for negligence during the design of the bridge, accusing the architect of "gross negligence" and being responsible for decisions that led to the project being over budget and incurring higher-than-anticipated maintenance costs.

Calatrava has designed more than 40 bridges, including the Alamillo Bridge in Seville, Bac de Roda Bridge in Barcelona and the Jerusalem Chords Bridge, but the Ponte della Costituzione is not the first to have problems with slipperiness.

A non-slip carpet was installed across the deck of the architect's Zubizuri bridge in Bilbao over concerns about its slick glass tiles.

The photography is by Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz

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Foster + Partners criticises RIBA climate report over "deviation" from global treaty

The UK's largest architecture firm, Foster + Partners, has criticised a RIBA sustainability report backed by nearly 250 built environment organisations, claiming that it contradicts the watershed Paris Agreement treaty on climate change.

Foster + Partners is one of only two architecture studios among the country's top 10 largest that have failed to endorse the report – the other being Zaha Hadid Architects.

The studio told Dezeen that by calling for calculations about buildings' carbon impact to be based on whole life-cycle consumption, rather than only operational emissions data, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) report diverges from the Paris Agreement.

RIBA presented its climate report at COP26

Signed by nearly 200 countries in 2015 and the basis for global climate negotiations at COP26, the Paris Agreement set a landmark ambition to "pursue efforts" to keep global temperature rises within 1.5 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels, with an emphasis on governments setting targets to limit their own greenhouse gas emissions.

A consumption-based approach, as advocated by the RIBA report, would instead see nations' carbon footprints measured based on the total emissions associated with the goods and services they use, not just those they directly emit.

For example, that would mean the UK would have to include the carbon impact of producing concrete manufactured by other countries but used in UK buildings – known as embodied carbon – when assessing its own progress against environmental targets.

Embodied carbon and the issue of consumption-based emissions were poorly understood until recently but became a major point of discussion in the climate debate during 2021.

RIBA report calls for whole-life carbon assessments

"At this critical moment, we are concerned that the RIBA's document Built for the Environment proposes a deviation from the Paris Agreement by its call for a change from emissions-based to consumption-based as a basis for carbon calculations," a spokesperson for Foster + Partners told Dezeen.

"This could lead to confusion and at its worst might create an opportunity for some nations to rethink their current commitments to the agreement. For this fundamental reason we have hesitated to endorse the RIBA report."

Published by industry body RIBA and pressure group Architects Declare, the report is titled "Built for the Environment" and urges governments to overhaul building codes to better regulate buildings' energy performance, as well as including targets relating to the built environment in their climate pledges.

Read:

UK industry group calls for new rules to force architects to calculate embodied carbon emissions

"Failing to account for the balance of net importers and net exporters of emissions makes the context for policymaking less clear and promotes international inequality," the report argued.

"These policies have led to embodied carbon emissions rarely being accounted for, meaning that opportunities for reducing emissions from the built environment sector have been missed."

Foster + Partners said that it is "sympathetic and supportive of the overall objectives of the RIBA" and that its founder, Norman Foster, has discussed the matter with the RIBA's president, Simon Allford.

RIBA "keen to continue dialogue"

"We have followed this up with a letter setting out our concerns in more detail and offering assistance in amending, as appropriate, the relevant clauses in the report, taking a more holistic view of the process to enable change that is deliverable and sustainable in the long term," the firm added.

Allford said the issue will be discussed in "a public forum".

"I have been speaking to Lord Foster and we agree that our shared mission to decarbonise will not be successful unless we challenge others and prepare to be challenged ourselves," he told Dezeen. "We are both keen to continue the dialogue about this particular issue and bring it to a public forum. And we will."

Read:

Government rejects Foster + Partners' "highly unsustainable" Tulip tower

Speaking at COP26, Foster called for "higher standards" on embodied carbon, while his studio's head of sustainability recently said it was an issue on which "the world is still catching up".

When first published on 2 November, Built for the Environment had been endorsed by around 220 organisations – but only three of the 10 largest architecture practices operating in the UK.

After the RIBA temporarily reopened endorsements amid "further positive interest", the number of signatories rose to 248 with only Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects now missing from the list among the top 10.

Architects Declare tensions

Zaha Hadid Architects, which is the country's third-largest studio, previously said its low carbon group and sustainability teams were "reviewing the report".

The firm did not respond to Dezeen's requests for comment about why it had chosen not to back the report.

Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects were part of a small group of founding members of Architects Declare in 2019, but left the network last year amid a row over their work on large airports.

The top photo is by Nigel Young courtesy of the Norman Foster Foundation.

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